OMB redrafts federal peer review guidance

Controversial draft guidelines for peer review within the federal government have been recast by the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB). Initially proposed last year, the guidance would set governmentwide standards for peer review of science used for federal regulation, defining when and how documents would undergo review (C&EN, Sept. 8, 2003, page 13). Strengthening of federal peer review is widely endorsed, but some critics, including the National Academy of Sciences, expressed concern that the draft guidance was overly prescriptive (C&EN, Feb. 2, page 21). OMB announced on April 15 that it revised the proposal in light of these concerns. OMB will accept public comments on the new draft before issuing a final version of the guidelines later this year. Changes include discussing more extensively why the guidance is needed, providing more discretion to agencies in determining the type of peer review needed, and exempting time-sensitive medical or health information from peer review requirements. The revised proposal is available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/peer_review041404.pdf.